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Betting tips and key races: the beginners’ guide to the 2023 Cheltenham Festival 🐎
The Cheltenham Festival is one of the biggest horse racing events in the world. It is the absolute pinnacle of jump racing, with four relentless days of top quality action. If you are new to the sport and are interested in what’s going on and how everything works, we have put together a handy guide to provide all the information you need. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing. We also have a free bets page with sign up offers to give you extra betting power.
Where can you find our Cheltenham tips?
It can be a bit overwhelming with so many runners across a large number of races. Expert help is on hand however as we will provide a tip for every race of the Festival, thoroughly researched by our expert tipster. With these tips you will also find in-depth analysis, explaining why each horse has been selected. You can already find our ante post tips live on our website here.
Cheltenham Day 1 tips (Tuesday)
Cheltenham Day 2 tips (Wednesday)
Cheltenham Day 3 tips (Thursday)
Cheltenham Day 4 tips (Friday)
The key races
The 2023 Cheltenham Festival takes place between Tuesday 14th March and Friday 17th March. Each day has a seven-race card and they are built around the four ‘championship races’.
Tuesday
The Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy is the big race on Day 1 and it’s run over an extended two miles. Willie Mullins and Nicky Henderson are the trainers to look out for in this race, having won six out of the last 10 renewals between them. Henderson has the hot favourite this year with Constitution Hill and Mullins’ State Man could be the only one to get near him.
Wednesday
Day 2 offers the Queen Mother Champion Chase which is run over two miles. Nicky Henderson has been one to look out for in recent years, winning four of the last 10. With no entries this year however, defending champion Energumene will be looking to take advantage. Edwardstone is the main contender for the home team, having won the novice equivalent of this race last year.
Thursday
One for the slower horses, the Stayers’ Hurdle is a race with an emphasis on stamina for hurdlers over three miles. Gavin Cromwell and Willie Mullins have won four of the last 10 renewals between them. Flooring Porter has won the last two renewals of this race and will attempt to make it a hat-trick. There are some highly promising and progressive contenders this year such Blazing Khal, Home By The Lee and Teahupoo that are likely to make it a competitive race.
Friday
Often regarded as the pinnacle of jump racing, the Cheltenham Gold Cup requires the perfect blend of speed, stamina and class for chasers over an extended 3m2f trip. Irish trainers have dominated this race in the last decade, winning seven out of the last 10 renewals. Galopin Des Champs is favourite for the race this year and deservedly so. Last year’s runaway winner A Plus Tard isn’t likely to give up his crown without a fight and the likes of Bravemansgame and Noble Yeats add to the depth of this race.
Other races
Despite not being quite as prestigious as the four main events, the supporting cards are jam-packed with quality races that owners, trainers and jockeys would love to win. Novice hurdles and chases are geared towards educating younger or inexperienced horses who could be the champions of the future.
Handicaps are also a key component of the Festival. Horses are allotted a handicap mark based on their ability which dictates how much weight they will carry in a race. This system is designed (in theory) to give every horse an equal chance of winning.
There are a few of other races such as the Cross Country Chase, the Champion Bumper and the Festival Challenge Cup which provide other interesting challenges.
Betting tips
It is very important to remember to gamble responsibly and only bet what you can afford.
There are 28 races across the four days, which makes it a marathon and not a sprint. It’s sensible not to have a bet in every race.
There is plenty of expert advice on offer. You can find our ante-post Cheltenham tips here and there will be loads more to come over the next week or so.
Take advantage of bookmaker sign up offers. Bookies want your business and will offer incentives to get you to sign up. You can find links to a multitude of these offers here, on our free bets page.
Shop around to get the best prices and don’t just take the first price you see.
Finally, there is a fun festival atmosphere on course and the racing is captivating so remember to enjoy it but stay safe and know your limits!
If you back any of our selections you can watch them live on the free Racing Post app or racingpost.com. Simply log in to one of your bookmaker accounts and click ‘Watch live’ on the racecards.
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